Jericho Story Of A Son
by mushroom1302
Summary: A boy with amazing powers goes to the titans when fleeing his father.They agree to protect him and this mission becomes more urgent when they discover that his father is their greatest enemy...Fin
1. Fleeing The Father

Disclaimer: I do not own Teen Titans.

In the pitch black of the night, a blonde boy was running as fast as he could. His green eyes were shining in the dark. Behind him, a man was chasing him. He rounded a corner as fast as he could. The man picked up speed and skidded around the corner. He looked around, but the boy was gone. He swore quietly behind the mouth piece of his mask before turning away.

Down an alley way, the blonde boy was breathing heavily. His green eyes were wide with fear and cold sweat glistened on his brow. From his pocket, he drew a cutting from a newspaper. The title read:

"**TITANS SAVE CITY, A FULL ACCOUNT OF THE TEENAGE SUERHEROES!"**

The boy placed the clipping back in his pocket and headed for the train station. With any luck, the next train would come soon and could get help to pull him away from, this nightmare…

"Tofu!" shouted Beastboy happily.

Cyborg looked down at his plate unenthusiastically.

"Hey Raven, how does herbal tea taste?" he asked.

"Tofu isn't that bad!" said Beastboy angrily.

Cyborg walked over to the kitchen and dumped his plate in the sink.

"I'll make my own breakfast." He said.

Beastboy glared at him. Starfire began eating happily and Robin picked up his fork.

"Most wonderful!" laughed Starfire and continued to shovel the tofu into her mouth.

"She likes it!" said Beastboy to Cyborg, who rolled his eyes.

"Have you seen what she eats? Of course she'd like it." Said Raven.

A large argument erupted between the three of them. Starfire continued to eat happily. Robin was trying desperately to get a word in somewhere to stop the argument and failing miserably.

"Shut up!" shouted Robin loudly.

The three of them stopped and Starfire froze, fork still in her mouth.

"We're going outside to train on the obstacle course. Then we'll see if we can wear off all the extra energy you're wasting on arguing!" he said, grinning.

"Oh man." groaned Cyborg.

"Dude! Harsh!" said Beastboy.

Raven blinked and walked away and Starfire finally spat out her fork.

The blonde boy opened his green eyes and gazed out of the train window. He could see the giant 'T' shaped tower on the island and hope crept into his heart for first time in months. Maybe, just maybe, he could start again. No more running. He could have a normal life.

Just as he thought this, a loud crash echoed through the train compartment. He stood up and saw him. The man was walking through the scared and fleeing crowds towards him. The boy shook his head in a silent plea.

"It's no use running!" laughed the masked man.

The boy span around and headed for the door at the other end of the train. It wouldn't open. He headed for the window and smashed the glass. He looked out. They were on a bridge over water.

"Don't be a fool," said the man.

The boy didn't have a choice. He leapt out of the window and dived into the water below…

At midday, the titans walked back down the stairs, very sore from training.

"Dude, I can't feel my limbs!" said Beastboy, falling down on the sofa.

"Don't be pathetic," said Raven, sitting down and picking up her book.

"It's alright for you, you can heal yourself," groaned Cyborg.

"I did not find it tiring at all," said Starfire confused.

"That's because Robin didn't make you do anything!" said Beastboy.

"That's because she wasn't arguing," said Robin.

"No," said Beastboy, "It's because you fancy…"

There was suddenly a loud knock at the door. The titans looked at each other.

"I count five," said Beastboy.

"Wow, you can count to five," said Raven, "that is truly your greatest achievement."

"Is someone going to get that?" asked Robin.

They all stood up and approached the door. Cyborg opened it and they saw a blonde boy with startlingly green eyes standing in the door way. He was soaked from head to toe. He started to move his hands, but he suddenly stopped. His eyes closed and he collapsed onto the floor.

The boy was awake, but he kept his eyes closed. He could hear voices.

"I did a scan, he's lucky that he didn't drown with the amount of water he took on."

"Will he be well again?"

"He'll be fine Star, but something else came up. It looks like his throat was partially cut at some point."

"Cut?"

"Dude, was it recent?"

"No, it's healed, it looks like it happened years ago, but he's mute."

"Mute?"

"He can't talk, Beastboy, something we would welcome in you right now."

"That explains the hand movements."

The boy opened his eyes. His sight was blurry, but he could just make out that he was in a dark medical room.

"You're awake," said a voice beside him.

He looked over and saw a dark haired girl with pale skin and dark eyes. She was dressed in black and blue and held a continuous deadpan look on her face.

"It's okay. You're safe here," she said, watching him closely, "I'm Raven."

The boy moved his hands in a series of shapes.

'I-am-Jericho'

"Jericho," said Raven, "Welcome to Titans tower. I'll go tell the others you're awake."

She stood up and walked over to the door. As she opened it, Jericho heard the voices more clearly.

"I also detected a strange series of brain patterns"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he has some sort of power, I just don't know what."

"He's awake," came Raven's voice, "his name's Jericho."

"How do you know?"

"He told me," said Raven.

Raven walked back into the room and turned on the light. She was followed by four more people. Jericho sat up, immediately alert.

"Jericho, this is Cyborg, Robin, Starfire and Beastboy." Explained Raven, "We're the Teen Titans."

Jericho raised his hand in a short wave.

"Welcome to Titans tower," said Robin, stepping forward.

"Welcome new friend!" said Starfire.

She stepped forward to hug him in her usually greeting, but Raven put her arm out.

"Starfire, the dude almost drowned, give him some space!" laughed Beastboy, "I'm BB. The best of all the titans!"

Jericho grinned as Cyborg hit Beastboy over the back of the head.

"Who's the best titan?" he asked.

"Dude!" said Beastboy, "You've got metal hands! They hurt!"

"Jericho, how did you end up here?" asked Robin.

Jericho did a series of hand gestures and Robin watched.

"He says he came looking for us because he thought we could help. His father has been trying it hunt him down…to kill him," said Robin.

"We'll not stand for this!" said Starfire, "We will protect our latest friend!"

Cyborg stepped forward, confused.

"In the scan, it showed that you had an unusual ability. Do you mind showing us?" he asked.

Jericho moved his hands.

"He needs to make eye contact with someone," said Raven.

"I'll do it!" said Beastboy, jumping forward.

He looked Jericho straight in the eyes. Jericho's own green eyes glowed and suddenly he was gone.

"Jericho?" asked Raven.

"Um guys?" said Beastboy.

They looked around and Beastboy was swapping from form to form.

"What?" asked Robin.

"I'm not doing this of my own accord!" said Beastboy.

Beastboy suddenly shuddered and Jericho leapt out of him and was standing beside him, miming his explanation.

"He can jump into people's bodies and take control for a short amount of time, swapping from body to body," said Robin, "He can even manipulate their powers."

"Whoa." said Raven.

"That's one hell of a power!" said Cyborg, "Good thing you're on our side!"

"Jericho," said Starfire, voicing a concern she had had for some time, "Why is your father trying to kill you?"

"Because you won't join him?" asked Raven.

"Well now you won't have to, you're going to stay with us," said Robin, "You'll have at least one titan in the same area as you at all times, just in case."

Jericho moved his hands.

'Thank-you, but-he-is-dangerous. He-is-an-assassin.'

"An assassin?" asked Raven.

"What's his name?" asked Robin.

Robin and Raven both watched, wide eyed as Jericho gave his answer.

"What is wrong?" asked Starfire.

"His father's name," said Raven.

"What about it?" asked Cyborg.

"It's Wilson," said Robin, "…SLADE Wilson."

There was deathly silence.


	2. Security central

"His…his father is…" stuttered Beastboy.

"Slade," said Cyborg, "His father is Slade."

Jericho made frantic hand gestures. Raven read them and smiled gently.

"Of course we're not going to make you leave," she said quietly.

"If anything," said Robin, "This makes you staying with us even more important."

"I do not understand," said Starfire, "When did Slade have children?"

Jericho explained and Raven translated.

"Slade was married to Jericho's mother, but then they separated after Jericho was born," she explained, "But when Slade heard about Jericho's powers he came after him."

"That must have been after we last saw him," said Cyborg.

"Is it safe to leave your mother on her own?" asked Beastboy.

"He says that she should be fine," said Raven, "But she doesn't know where he's gone."

"Shouldn't she get some help?" asked Robin.

"She'll be fine now that's gone. Slade was only interested in him." Said Raven.

Jericho looked down at the floor.

"It's going to be okay Jericho," said Raven, "But I think it's best that we call your mother and let her know that you're safe."

Jericho nodded, looking guilty.

"You did the right thing Jericho," said Robin, "If you'd left a note, Slade could've found it and come after you."

"But…" said Starfire, "I suspect that Slade would be smart enough to know that Jericho would come to us."

"True," said Robin, "but we've dealt with him before."

Cyborg did one final scan to check that Jericho's lungs were empty of excess water and then Raven took him to the living room.

"What's your number?" she asked him, and dialled the numbers as he showed them to her.

There was ringing at the other end before the phone was picked up. A woman was at the other end. He voice was urgent and stuffy, as though she had been crying.

"Hello? Adeline Wilson speaking,"

"Mrs Wilson? This is Raven from the Teen Titans speaking…"

"Oh my God, Joey!" said the worried voice at the other end, "What's happened to him?"

"There's nothing wrong with…Joey was it?" asked Raven, "He arrived last night after falling off the railway bridge into the water, but he's fine now. We just wanted to contact you to let you know he's alright."

"Thank god," said Adeline Wilson, "Thank you so much. When's Joey coming home?"

Raven looked over at Jericho and pressed the speaker button so Jericho could hear what his mother was saying.

"I'm afraid that we can't let him go home just yet," said Raven.

"Excuse me? He's my son!"

"I know and I'm sorry, but…do you have any idea why he left?" asked Raven.

"No, he never told me anything was wrong,"

Raven took a deep breath before speaking into the mouth piece.

"His father, Slade Wilson has been trying to hunt him down."

There was a deep silence on the other end of the phone.

"Is there any chance that he'd be able to find you?" asked Raven.

"N…no…we separated a long time ago…"

"Your son told us that," said Raven, "If there is any chance that he'd come after you, you have to leave right now and go into hiding somewhere safe."

Jericho waved to get Raven's attention and signalled to her what he wanted her to say.

"Joey says…he says that he wants you to stay safe and not to worry…he's in good hands and he doesn't want his father to come after you while looking for him…and that he loves you…"

There was crying at the other end of the phone.

"Can Joey hear me?" asked Adeline.

"Yes," said Raven quietly.

"I love you too Joey," she said, "I…just stay safe and come home soon okay honey?"

Joey nodded.

"He's says yes," said Raven, "And I just want to say that you don't have to worry. The titans have come up against Slade many times before and we know what we're up against."

"Thank you…just make sure you kids don't go getting yourself into too much trouble…Slade Wilson is an expert killer…I have to go…stay safe Joey…for me…"

There was a soft click and a buzzing noise. Raven put the phone down and looked over at Jericho, who was hastily wiping tears from his eyes on his sleeve. Raven put a hand on his shoulder.

"It'll be alright," Said Raven, "And for now, this is your home, so make yourself comfortable."

Adeline Wilson put the phone down and closed her eyes to stop the tears from pouring down her cheeks.

"Now Adeline," hissed Slade, "That wasn't so hard was it."

He pulled the gun away from her back.

"And now that I know where my son is," said Slade, "I should have no trouble retrieving him."

Slade began to walk away, the gun still in his hand. Adeline glared at him angrily.

"If you lay a finger on him I'll kill you Slade," she called after him.

"Don't worry," said Slade, holding up the gun, "With this I won't have to lay a finger on him."

Adeline covered her mouth and sank to her knees as Slade turned around and aimed the gun at her before pulling the trigger…

Jericho, Robin and Raven were watching Cyborg and Beastboy play their racing game on the computer while Starfire was in the kitchen attempting to cook something that Jericho would like.

"And Cyborg takes the lead…again…" called Cyborg, jumping up and down on his seat.

"Not for long!" said Beastboy tapping furiously on the game controller.

There was a loud bang from the kitchen. Robin looked over to see purple liquid trying to escape a pot being held shut by Starfire.

"Star, I told you not to make living food," sighed Robin, "We can't afford a new cooker!"

Robin got up and jumped over the back of the sofa and ran to the kitchen to help her hold down the pot lid. Raven looked over at Jericho, who looked at her questioningly.

"Joey?" asked Raven.

He grinned sheepishly, a pink tinge colouring his cheeks.

"No," said Raven, "It's…I suppose the word most people would use is…cute?"

Jericho signalled to her.

'My-real-name-is-Joseph.'

"Where did you get Jericho from?" asked Raven.

'Long-story'

"Well if you think Joey's bad," said Raven, "Beastboy always gets seriously embarrassed about his real name."

Beastboy suddenly stopped playing and leapt forward to cover her mouth.

"He doesn't need to know that information!" he said.

"What do you mean GARFIELD?" asked Cyborg loudly.

Beastboy let out a short, high pitched scream and covered his ears.

"I can't hear you!" he called loudly and Cyborg began chasing him around the room yelling his real name.

Even Robin and Starfire let go of the pot because they were laughing so much. Unfortunately, this was the break the purple liquid needed to escape and grow about ten times in size.

"Who wants to go out for pizza?" asked Beastboy and everyone ran for the door.

Ten minutes later they were sat around their usual table and the usual argument between Cyborg and Beastboy was breaking out.

"I keep telling you," shouted Cyborg, "Pepperoni isn't real meat! It's processed junk!"

"Great, so it's the mutilated corpses of my animal friends and not only that, but it's got a load of chemicals in it!" said Beastboy, watching Cyborg's face turn green.

"Maybe not pepperoni?" asked Robin, "And we should consider the vegetarian at the table."

Starfire looked over at Jericho.

"Are you also vegetarian?" she asked.

Jericho shook his head and Cyborg laughed.

"See Tofu boy," said Cyborg, "You're the only vegetable at this table!"

Beastboy glared at him and called the waitress over.

"Well have the VEGETARIAN option please," he said loudly.

"God," said the waitress writing it down, "No need to shout, I ain't death darlin'."

She walked away, Beastboy was watching her closely. Raven hit him over the head.

"What did you do that for?" asked Beastboy.

"When you're staring the waitress's behind, I think its best that I hit you before she does," said Raven, "Not to mention that you could get us banned from this place."

Jericho signalled something to her and she let out a small laugh.

"What did he say?" asked Beastboy.

Jericho raised a finger to his lips and Raven nodded. Robin was whispering what Jericho had said to Starfire and Cyborg.

"Come on!" Beastboy whined, "Tell me!"

The titans laughed at Beastboy's distress at being kept out of the loop, unaware that their greatest enemy was currently heading their way…


	3. First mission

Half way through their pizza, Robin's communicator beeped. He opened it up and read the message.

"What is it?" asked Cyborg.

"It's not Slade is it?" asked Beastboy, "'cause I haven't finished my pizza."

"Beastboy!" said Raven.

"What?" asked Beastboy.

"Don't worry," said Robin, "It's just a robbery down town, but we'd better sort it out."

They all stood up and walked away, apart from Beastboy who was dragged away by Cyborg.

"Can't I take it with me?" asked Beastboy.

"I ain't letting you in my car with pizza!" said Cyborg, "Now get a move on!"

Other than that the only one still there was Jericho. Raven turned around.

"Come on," she said, "We're not allowed to leave you alone remember? Plus you might come in useful!"

Jericho grinned and got up, running after her.

Once at the store currently being robbed, they stationed themselves outside the door. Robin looked in through the glass in the door and ducked back down.

"They're heavily armed for average robbers," he explained Robin, "My guess is that they're from a group, but we can't know until we stop them."

"If they're heavily armed, how're we going to get in?" asked Beastboy.

"We need a distraction," said Robin.

"Why don't we send in Star?" laughed Beastboy,"Most guys find her distracting!"

"I do not understand…" started Starfire.

"Don't worry," said Robin, "I'll deal with him later, right now I think we need something a little more ordinary…"

The Titans looked at Jericho who started to look very worried.

Jericho put the headphones on, hiding the ear piece given to him my Cyborg. He took a deep breath and walked into the shop. The robbers all pointed their guns at him, but he was already walking in another direction, looking at things on the shelves as though he hadn't seen them.

"Kid," said one of the robbers, "Drop to the ground!"

Jericho ignored them, trying to stay looking calm. He knew that Raven was outside, ready with a shield in case they started firing.

"Boss," said the robber, "This kid won't listen."

The leader of the gang walked up to Jericho was pulled off his headphones.

"_Stay calm_" buzzed Cyborg's voice in his ear, "_be confident 'look him in the eye', so to speak_"

Jericho let himself give smile. The leader pulled Jericho around and faced the gun at him.

"Raise your hands!" he said.

Jericho did as he was told and looked straight into the leader's eyes. The leader suddenly found himself hypnotised by the glowing green eyes; completely black apart from the green glowing rings…

The next thing he knew the kid was gone and he was walking across the store without telling his legs to move. He was completely out of his own control and not only that, but he could hear whispers in his head, telling him what to do.

"Boss? What happened to that kid?" asked one of the gang.

"I…dunno…something strange is goin' on!" he said.

The next thing he knew he was doing thumbs up out of the window.

"Who are you signalling to?" asked the member of the gang, staring out of the window.

What the gang didn't know, was that Raven had just used a dimensional hole to bring the Titans straight into the store without the gang noticing (they were all too busy staring out of the window). Suddenly one of the gang glanced around.

He opened his mouth to raise the alarm as he looked at the leader, but he gave Jericho the time he needed to jump from the gang leader into guy and made him smack his own head against the wall, knocking him out. He fell onto the floor and Jericho jumped out of him and lined up with the Titans.

"Quick thinking Jericho," Said Robin.

The rest of the gang turned around and were all suddenly either being knocked unconscious or attempting to dodge attacks. Soon all of the robbers expect one where lying unconscious on the floor. The last one was trying to sneak up behind Robin. Jericho turned around quickly and made eye contact, jumping into him. Robin turned around to see a gun inches away from his face, but the guy was staring, confused at his own hand as it dropped the gun without being instructed to. The next thing he knew, his wrists were being held out and Robin was clipping handcuffs on him.

"Thanks Jericho," said Robin and Joey jumped out of him.

Slade stopped and looked into the distance. The town where he had lost two apprentices. Not only that, but now his own son had joined the same team his two apprentices had been members of. At least this made it easier for him to find…

There was a loud beeping of a car horn behind him. He didn't move from where he was stood, in the centre of the road.

"Hey!" called the middle-aged man, leaning out of the window, "Get out of the damn road!"

Slade began walking forward. The driver stayed hanging out of the window, watching the strange man walk down the middle of the road. As he walked away, Slade pull the ring out of a grenade and threw it backwards. It exploded within seconds of landing inside the car's sunroof.

"Not bad aim," said Slade, smiling behind his mask.

The Titans walked in through the door of the tower and through into the living room. The purple liquid was currently sleeping, curled up in a ball. Very carefully, Cyborg scooped it into one of his specially designed containers and slammed down the lid as it awoke and started trying to smash the container.

"Put it with the others," said Robin before turning to Starfire, "Now this time listen! No-living-food!"

Starfire smiled sweetly and nodded before sitting next to Beastboy on the sofa. Robin turned to Jericho.

"You did really good in there," he said, "I wonder if you might consider staying with us for a while so we can try you out as part of the team?"

Jericho grinned and nodded happily.

"Keep in mind you might change your decision when this is all over…" started Robin.

"Guys!" said Beastboy, "Come look at this!"

The Titans all made their way over to the sofa and sat down to watch the news channel that was currently on. There was a serious looking woman speaking.

"_The body was found approximately five hours ago when the landlord went to collect rent. It was later identified to be the body of Mrs Adeline Wilson, who only recently moved to the area."_

Jericho stared at the screen, a look of pure horror on his face as the Titans turned around to face him.

"_We were later informed that the victim was killed with a powerful blast at short range from a heavy hand gun, the sort of which is unknown."_

"Jericho…" said Starfire, taking his hand.

Jericho pulled it away and sat with his head down low and ran his hands through his hair.

"_The whereabouts of Adeline's family are unknown. We have been told to as that if anyone can give the police any information of her son Joseph Wilson and husband Slade Wilson, they are to approach their local police station immediately…"_

A picture of Jericho and a very serious looking man with white hair and an eye patch in an army uniform appeared on the screen.

"That's Slade?" asked Beastboy, "Explains the one eye."

"It's okay Joey," said Raven, "Now we know where he last was we'll be able to get him faster!"

Jericho moved his hands slowly.

'This-wasn't-supposed-to-happen.'… 'He-was-after-me.'

"It's okay," said Raven, "We'll go to the police and you can tell them what you know and we'll tell them that we'll handle it and…Joey we'll stop him! No matter what happens, we'll stop him!"

Then next thing she knew she was hugging him and he was crying as the Titans came round to comfort him.


	4. System mess up

(A/N) I just wanted to say that the reason I didn't include Grant (Jericho's brother) was because I didn't want to complicate the story, but if you really want him included somewhere in the story let me know & I'll put him in for you, but I don't know much about his character so he'd probably end up compelely different, but who hasn't? (I was also thinking of writing a sequel including some of the other original members. Tell me what you think of that idea too.)

* * *

"Thank you," said the police officer, "It was brave of you to come here straight away, but with this information, he should be easier to find. You're sure it's your father who did this?"

Jericho nodded.

"He was after Jericho, that's why he hunted down Adeline," said Robin.

The police officer looked at Raven.

"And you say that you were speaking to her on the phone just before the shooting?"

"Yes, but she sounded distressed," said Raven, "I didn't think anything of it at the time. I thought she was just upset because Joseph was gone."

"And you say that you've fought Slade Wilson several times before?" asked the police officer, "But he was disguised and only called himself 'Slade'?"

"Yes," said Robin, "He was responsible for the attack on the town a few months ago when everyone left, but we thought he fell into the volcano when it erupted a while back,"

"But he didn't and now he's after Joseph," said Raven.

The police officer jotted down a last few notes and nodded at them.

"Thank you for all your help," said the officer, turning to Jericho, "Don't worry, you couldn't be in safer hands with the Teen Titans, just…try not to leave the tower too often and don't go _anywhere_ on your own."

Jericho nodded and he and Titans left the police station. As they passed a police car, the radio buzzed and voice came through the speakers.

"_An explosion on the outskirts of town. Appeared to be caused by an explosive of some type. One man killed in car…"_

Robin stopped, listening to the radio.

"You don't think it could be…" started Cyborg.

"I think Slade's back in town, and he's heading for us." Said Robin, "We'd better check this out, Raven, Starfire, you take Jericho back to the tower and stay with him. Don't let him out of your sight! We'll search the bombsight. Stick to the air, Slade can't get you up there so long as you stay high above the buildings."

Raven and Starfire took one of Jericho's arms each and lifted into the air.

"We'll be back soon!" called Robin after them.

* * *

They landed outside the tower and opened the door.

"Come on, we'd better get in quickly and set up the alarms," said Raven, "We don't want Slade getting in."

They sat down in the living room and Raven began tapping the keys on the computer.

"_All Alarm Systems Activated"_

Raven sat down next to Jericho. Starfire was sat on his other side, trying to comfort him. He was staring at his feet.

"Joey, you look exhausted," said Raven, "Why don't you try getting some sleep?"

Jericho nodded and walked away and up the stairs. Starfire was staring at Raven.

"What?" asked Raven.

"You are taking a liking to Jericho? Correct?" asked Starfire, smiling.

"No!" said Raven angrily, leaning back.

"Then why do you act so kind towards him? And call him 'Joey'?" asked Starfire, her smile growing.

"You're not as naïve as you like to pretend are you Starfire?" asked Raven.

Starfire shook her head, still smiling.

"It's just that…" began Raven, sounding deadly serious, "we've got something in common…me and Jo- I mean Jericho…we're both hiding from our fathers…and we're both different from everyone else on the team. He can't talk and I'm…creepy, as Beastboy likes to put it."

"Everyone in our team is different," said Starfire, "That's why we're friends. I am not from this planet, Cyborg is half robot, Beastboy is green and Robin is human, but has gym…gymna…"

"Gymnastic skills?"

"Exactly!" said Starfire smiling, "We are all different."

"It's just that…I feel that Jericho understands," said Raven, "He knows what it's like not to be understood."

"I see," said Starfire.

* * *

Robin leant inside the charred remains of the car and pulled out with a small metal clip.

"What's that?" asked Beastboy.

"It belongs to a grenade," said Robin.

"But wouldn't it have exploded?" asked Cyborg.

"It should've done, but didn't suggesting that this grenade was made out an extremely strong material," said Robin.

"A military weapon," said Cyborg, understanding what Robin was hinting at.

"Makes sense," said Beastboy, "Military guy, military weapon."

"But he isn't in the army anymore, how would he get a military weapon?" asked Cyborg.

"This is Slade we're talking about, he wouldn't have any problem breaking into a military settlement." Said Robin, "This means that this situation is even more serious."

"Yeah, Slade with heavy military weapons," said Beastboy, "He's dangerous just with his fists!"

"You're telling me!" said Robin, "We'd better get back to the tower. I don't want to leave the girls and Jericho alone."

Beastboy didn't bother commenting on when Robin had exactly started calling Raven and Starfire 'The Girls'.

"But if Slade has this sort of weaponry, are you sure it's a good idea," said Beastboy, "Why not get them to come to us. Slade will probably head straight for the tower."

"But they've got the security systems," said Cyborg, "They'll stop anyone getting in."

Robin took in this information and even before his brain finished processing it, he knew what was wrong. He started to run up the street. Cyborg and Beastboy followed, even though they had no idea what was going on.

"Robin?" asked Cyborg, "What's up?"

"You said the security will stop anyone getting in," said Robin, "that's true, but only after they've been activated from the inside."

"So?" asked Beastboy.

"The girls get inside and lock up, stopping anyone else getting in without their permission, even us," said Robin, "But what if Slade was already inside when the system was activated?"

Cyborg swore loudly.

* * *

Jericho walked into his room and closed the door. As he did, he was suddenly grabbed from behind and a voice was whispering in his ear.

"Hello Joseph,"

Jericho recognised that voice, and what was worse, was that he couldn't tell anyone about it and so long as he was behind him, he could even fight back.

"You're going to do exactly as I say."


	5. Kidnap

Raven tapped on the keys of the computer, trying to ignore the fact that Starfire was still smiling behind her. She slammed her hands down on the keys.

"Starfire," she said, trying to remain calm, "I can't work with you grinning at my back!"

"What are you working on?" asked Starfire.

"I'm trying to track down Slade," said Raven.

She tapped on a few keys and pressed enter. A database came up on the screen with a picture of masked Slade. Raven scanned the screen.

"What have you found?" asked Starfire.

"It seems that Slade didn't always go by Slade." Said Raven, "He's known by other assassins as 'Deathstoke' or 'Deathstroke the Terminator'. Sounds like he's got a bad reputation. Overly obsessive when it comes to missions."

"What's that?" asked Starfire, pointing to a note on the screen.

"It looks like he has another son…Grant?" asked Raven, "Joey's brother."

"He died on a mission." Said Starfire.

"No wonder he's so messed up." Said Raven.

"Really?" asked a voice from the door way to the bedrooms, "Is that why I'm so 'messed up'?"

Starfire and Raven stood up. Slade was standing in the door way, with a knife held at Jericho's throat.

"Slade!" gasped Starfire, her eyes glowing green.

"Let him go!" said Raven.

"I'm sorry, but we have father-son business to attend to." Said Slade, throwing down a can.

Smoke spurted from the can. It wasn't normal smoke however; Raven and Starfire were soon finding themselves feeling drowsy and eventually falling unconscious.

* * *

Robin, Cyborg and Beastboy stopped outside of the tower doors. 

"Starfire? Raven?" asked Robin, pressing the button for the intercom, "Are you okay? Turn off security!"

"No need," said Cyborg, reading the panel, "It's already been disabled."

"What?" asked Beastboy.

Robin ran towards the doors, and headed straight for the living room. There were slight traces of smoke seeping from beneath the doors.

"Sleeping gas," said Cyborg, "But it's mostly gone now."

Robin opened the doors and ran inside. Raven and Starfire were lying unconscious on the floor. Robin ran over to them.

"Starfire? Wake up! Raven!" he shook their shoulders, but they didn't wake up.

"There's no permanent damage," said Cyborg, running his wrist scanner over them.

"Let's get them to the medical room just in case," said Robin.

Raven groaned slightly and rolled over.

"Raven?" asked Beastboy.

"…he took…Joey…" she muttered sleepily.

"Don't worry, we're going to get him back." said Robin.

Raven opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times to get them to focus. She suddenly sat straight up.

"Joey!" she said, "We've got to find him. Slade…"

"We know, but we can't do anything until your both okay," said Cyborg.

"I'm sorry Raven, this is all my fault," said Robin, "I should've realised sooner."

"You didn't know, none of us did," said Raven.

Starfire stirred and slowly sat up.

"What happened?" she whispered hoarsely.

Beastboy was staring at the information up on the screen.

"Deathstroke? Kind of sinister," said Beastboy.

"What?" asked Cyborg, walking over.

"I was researching Slade when he took Jericho," said Raven, "He's got a seriously bad reputation."

"Overly obsessive, definitely Slade," said Cyborg, reading the screen.

"Well we'd better go find him." Said Robin ,"We can't let him hurt Jericho, we promised to help him out."

* * *

When Jericho woke up, he instantly knew two things. One, he was no longer in the tower. Two, he wasn't alone. He tried to open his eyes, but they were blind-folded. He tried to pull the material off, but it was too tight. 

"I can't have to jumping into me while I'm trying to talk to you," said the voice of his father.

The even, calm tone made him shiver. For the first time in his life, it actually occurred to him that his father might be completely insane. He could feel a heavy object around his ankle, attached to a thick chain.

"You must understand, I'm only doing these things because I have to," said Slade.

'You-killed-my-mother.'

"She was against me, against us." Said Slade, "She wants to stop us from being a family. I had to put a stop to her madness."

'You-are-the-one-who-is-mad!'

"No, I'm not mad," said Slade, "The only reason I've been chasing you, is so I can ask you to join me."

Jericho spat on the floor. He suddenly felt a boot connect to his face. He rubbed the sore spot on his cheek. If his blind-fold wasn't shielding his eyes, he would've been glaring.

"There's no need for behaviour like that," said Slade, "You're worse than the titans."

'Leave-them-alone.'

"I'm afraid it's too late for that, for you see I have a history with the titans," said Slade, "And I had a duty, to dispose of them. To terminate them, like the insects they are. Do you understand?"

'They-are-my-friends-and-if-you-hurt-them…'

"You'll do what, Joseph?" asked Slade, "You can't do anything with your eyes covered, you know that."

'I-will-kill-you.'

"No need for such extreme measures," said Slade, "You are my son after all."

'You-are-no-father-to-me.'

Slade hit him across the face.

"I never had this sort of problem with Grant." Said Slade, angrily.

'And-now-he-is-dead-because-he-wanted-to-be-like-you.'

"But he made me proud, but you could never do that!" spat Slade.

'Then-why-do-you-want-me-to-join-you.'

"So I can give you another chance to prove yourself." Said Slade gently.

'I-don't-need-to-prove-myself-to-you.' mimed Jericho, 'I-don't-even-need-to-speak-to-you-if-I-don't-want-to.'

"Oh," laughed Slade, "I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, you're going to do exactly what I say. Starting with the destruction of your newest friends; the Teen Titans…"

* * *

The titans were currently searching the city, completely unaware what exactly was going beneath their very feet. Down, in an underground bunker built years ago, their friend was about to face his biggest challenge yet.

* * *

(A/N) I decided not to put Grant in, in the end due to lack of knowledge, but tell me any other titans wanted to be put in for a sequel if I do one. 


	6. Finding the friend

"This is hopeless!" said Raven, "We'll never find him at this rate."

"We'll find him Raven, we'll find him before Slade does anything to him," said Robin, trying to sound reassuring.

"I doubt that Slade will just kill him," said Beastboy, "He'll probably be the type of person to talk about his plans for ages or at least give him another chance to join him."

Beastboy had meant this to sound reassuring, but it only made Raven worry more that Jericho wasn't alright. Maybe he had decided all he could do join him. After all, that's what happened to Robin.

"Where do you think Slade would take him?" asked Starfire.

"He wouldn't go back to any of the old places, he'd expect us to look there." Said Cyborg.

"Unless he knew that we'd know that so he went there because he knew that we'd know so we wouldn't know that he knows that we'd know." Said Beastboy.

They all watched him for a few seconds trying to figure out what he'd just said and if it was correct.

"Let just stick with what Cyborg said," said Robin, "Do you know anywhere else around here he might be able to hide?"

"If I did, he wouldn't be hiding there." Said Cyborg.

"Unless he'd know that…" began Beastboy before Raven hit him hard around the back of the head, "Damn girl, you hit hard!"

"Why didn't we give him a communicator or something?" asked Robin.

They all stared at the ground, thinking hard about a way to find them.

"Raven, couldn't you try and find him the way you found me in the conditioning shafts at the tower? Y'know when I thought Slade was after me?" asked Robin.

"I knew where you were when I did that," said Raven, "And beside, I don't think Slade would be stupid enough to leave him with his eyes clear."

"But couldn't you ask him? You spoke to me," said Robin.

"He would not know, he was unconscious," said Starfire.

Cyborg and thought about this before speaking.

"But why don't you find Slade?" asked Cyborg.

"He'd know I was there," said Raven, "And like I said, I don't know where he is."

"But it's the only plan we've got," said Beastboy.

Raven hesitated, "Alright, I'll try"

* * *

Slade shook his head, thinking about everything he'd done. He wasn't proud of it, but he wasn't going to let Joseph waste his abilities like this. He was going to persuade him whether he wanted to join or not.

Jericho was remaining still. He was hunched up, hugging his knees. He was determined not to make any sign to Slade, not so much as swearing at him. Total block out, it was to only way to remain sane right now…he hoped.

Jericho could suddenly hear someone blundering around. Slade was swearing at an extraordinary level of loudness.

"Get out of my head witch!" she shouted.

When he opened his eye again, he knew it wasn't just him seeing what was in front of his face. He quickly closed his eye again and tried to force her out, but she wouldn't go. She was talking in his head.

"_We're coming to find you Slade, and when we do, we're going to make to pay for what you've done. You're nothing but a murderer Slade, or would you prefer 'Deathstroke'…"_

Then she was gone. He span around, Joseph was moving his head, trying to figure out what was going on. He walked over with his shot gun and shot the chain. It shattered and he grabbed Joey by the neck of his shirt and threw him towards the door.

"We're leaving!" she shouted.

* * *

Raven shook her head as she came out of her trance.

"They're in a bomb shelter or something like that," she said and stopped hovering.

"There aren't any bomb shelters around here," said Cyborg.

"No, but there's an underground bunker not far away, but we have to move fast, he'll be leaving with Jericho." Said Robin.

They headed in the direction Robin was pointing. However, by the time they arrived there, Slade was already riding away with Jericho is someone else's car. The driver was standing in the road yelling at them.

Starfire zoomed down and picked up Cyborg with Beastboy's head and Raven picked up Robin. They flew at top speed after the car. It was an open top sports car, and Starfire used this advantage to throw Cyborg into the car. Slade, however, was suspecting this and swerved the car. Cyborg managed to land safely and Starfire and Beastboy swooped down and picked him up. (But Cyborg was still swearing after the car for a while). The car stopped outside the closed mall. Slade grabbed Jericho and smashed the glass before throwing him in.

The Teen Titans landed and approached cautiously.

"Why go in there?" asked Cyborg.

"Lots of places to hide." Said Raven, "We'll end up slitting up to find them."

They entered the building and stood guard. There was no one in sight. Cyborg scanned the area with his electronic eye. He could only pick up traces of heat. Nothing big enough to be a person.

"Looks like we'll have to split up." Said Robin.

"But that's what Slade wants us to do." Said Beastboy, "And I don't like the mall being this dark."

"Get over it Beastboy," said Raven, heading for the upper floors.

"Just keep your communicators on alert," said Robin, "We'll need to contact each other when we find them."

"Personally, I don't see the point in splitting up," sad Raven, standing at the top of the escalator.

She closed her eyes and a large black bat-like creature appeared.

"He'll find them for us."

The bat split into several bats, zooming into every shop and room. Raven stared at the titans blankly, her eyes were completely black. One of the bats zoomed back.

"This way!" called Raven, running in the direction of a sports shop.

She rounded into the shop, the other titans not far behind. Slade turned and stared at them. Jericho was sat on the floor, trying to pry the bland-fold loose. Slade was holding the heavy hand gun in Jericho's face.

"End of the line Slade," said Raven, "You might as well give him up."

"That won't be happening." Sad Slade, pointing the gun at them.

While he was doing this, Raven was using her powers to untie the blind-fold. She whispered using her telepathy.

"_We'll get him into position, just be ready to jump…"_


	7. Battle time

Slade fired a shot at Raven. She raised a hand, leaving a black trail, blocking the bullet.

"Teen Titans, go!" called Robin.

"Gone dude," said Beastboy, changing into a cheetah and running at Slade.

Starfire fired two blots, one missed and the other connected with Slade's back. He was jolted forward. Robin took the opportunity to slam his staff under Slade's chin. He staggered backwards and Cyborg with him with a blast from his cannon. Beastboy then swiped his claws across his back.

While all this was going on, Raven was running for Jericho. She ducked down next to him.

"Are you alright Joey?" she asked.

He nodded and smiled gently at Raven.

"Good, are you ready?" she asked.

He nodded again. Raven turned around at face Slade's back. Using her powers, she pulled his feet out from under him. He shot at her, making her move. The bullet still caught her shoulder. She winced and used her right hand to lift Slade up and slam into the ceiling before letting him drop onto the floor. She groaned as he thudded to the floor.

As he get up Robin threw a gadget at him. It opened up and a long length of rope came out, coiling itself around Slade. Starfire flew down and pulled off his mask. His one eye glared at him and he shifted his gun from one bonded hand to the other.

"_Azarath Metriom Zinthos!_" shouted Raven, summoning the gun to her.

She swung it around on her finger before tucking it into her gold belt. Slade, however, had already pulled herself free and was attacking the titans. He turned around to Raven and Jericho.

"What are you going to do without your weapon?" asked Beastboy, standing in front of them.

Slade smiled gently and drew a long, silver bladed sword. The lights danced on the polished surface and Beastboy took a step back.

"When the hell did you get that?" he asked.

Beastboy ducked and Raven and Jericho dodged in opposite directions as he lunged. Robin slid along the floor, trying to knock out his feet. Slade jumped and Robin slipped into a hockey stick display. The lengths of wood fell down on him.

Starfire shot more starbolts at him. He dodged and threw a small ball at her. It opened and a net flew out, catching Starfire in it. She fell to the floor with a high pitched squeal. He was using tricks that Robin often used. He had a very similar fighting pattern to Robin.

Beastboy attacked next. He was caught in a sticky substance that came out of another sphere.

"Hold on," said Cyborg, "that's the same sort of tech Red-X used."

Robin got up out of the pile of hockey sticks, "In that case it's my fault for showing it to him. I'd better take my tricks back."

Cyborg fired a blast at him. Slade dodged and threw a knife at Cyborg. It hit him straight in the electronic eye. Cyborg yanked it out and staggered backwards. Half blind he was little use.

Robin leaped at him, but Slade knew he was coming. For a guy with only one eye he had very good senses. He gave a backwards jab with his elbow, hitting Robin in the nose. Robin fell back, landing back on top of the hockey sticks.

The only person in-between him and Joseph was Raven. She stood in front of Joey protectively.

"You've got to be ready," muttered Raven, just loud enough for Jericho's ears to pick up, _"Azarath Metriom Zinthos!"_

Various items began to fly at Slade. Everything from footballs to dummies dressed in uniforms.

"You'd better be ready," she said, stepping forward as Slade cut through the items flying at him.

She tried using her powers to pull the sword from his hand, but he was concentrating too hard. He was holding on with everything. He wasn't about to let his only methods of defence go.

"_Azarath Metriom…AH!"_ Screamed Raven as the sword slashed across her stomach.

Slade was heading straight for Jericho, but he was making one vital mistake. He was keeping his eye focused on Joseph, and _wide open_. Jericho concentrated on that eye. His own eyes glowed and before Slade could figure out what was going on, he had been taken over by his own son…

"Joseph, what are you doing?" asked Slade, angrily and Jericho took control of his body.

Raven opened her eyes. The swords handle was being held out to her. She took it, staring at Slade, trying to figure out what was going on. Slade was suddenly running at the wall. He smacked his head against it. He fell to the ground, but when he stood up; he turned to Raven and spoke in a younger voice.

"Raven, I can only take control temporarily, he'll soon be conscious again," said Slade, or rather, said Jericho.

"J…Joey?" asked Raven.

She smiled, so this is what he sounded like.

"Listen Raven, you have to stab me, now while he's still dazed." Said Jericho.

"But, that'll kill you. Can't you jump out of him first?" asked Raven.

"If I do he'll take control again," said Jericho, "and I'm not sure that it'll kill me too."

"Joey no, we can put him in jail…" began Raven, but he was shaking his head.

"He'll get out. He always does!" said Jericho, "To end it you have to kill him now!"

"Joey…I…I can't!" stuttered Raven.

"Now Raven, he's taking control ag…" Jericho stopped and Slade was blinking hard.

Raven closed her eyes. She knew she had to do it. Slade was running at her, Joey was still in control. She rammed the sword into him. Tears were brimming in her eyes. When she opened them, Slade was walking backwards off the sword, before he fell to the ground. Dead.

"No!" screamed Raven, "God, what have I done?"

She knelt down beside him. The other titans were walking over. She was doubled over, crying.

"Raven…you did what you had to…" said Robin gently.

"I'm so sorry Joey…please…forgive me…I'm so sorry…" tears were spilling down her face, "I killed him!"

Starfire gasped behind her. Raven considered the fact that Starfire had never seen her cry. Beastboy gasped too. It might have been fake.

Someone put their hand on Raven's shoulder. Without seeing who it was, she hugged them tightly. Judging by the height it was either Beastboy or Robin. They were hugging her back, very awkwardly. Obviously Beastboy.

Raven looked over the person's shoulder…but the other four titans were standing there watching. Starfire was smiling gently. Raven pulled back and looked up at the person she had been holding onto. The green eyes were shining and the blonde hair was a mess, sticking up awkwardly.

"Joey?" she gasped.

He grinned at her and nodded. More tears were streaming down her face now as she hugged him tightly again.

"I thought I'd killed you…" she sobbed.

'I'm-here-for-you.'


	8. Accept

Raven rolled over and looked over at the clock beside her bed. It was seven in the morning, time to get up. Damn. She climbed out of bed and got dressed before walking through the tower into the living room. Robin and Beastboy were already up.

"Morning Raven," said Robin, "You alright?"

"Why?" asked Raven, sitting at the table.

"Well…Jericho decided to go home today," said Robin.

Even Robin looked down at this. Jericho was their friend and they didn't particularly want him to leave. At this moment Jericho walked into the room. He looked at each of their faces. Raven was staring fixedly at the table top. Cyborg and Starfire followed him in.

"You need any help Jericho, come and find us." Said Cyborg, "For some reason, none of us have ever quiet given into the fact that Slade is supposedly 'dead'."

Jericho grinned and stepped down the stairs.

"Where are you going to go?" asked Starfire.

Jericho shrugged and signed something about 'wherever he feels like going'. He smiled gently, but looked sad. He had become friends with the titans. Friends with one of the titans in particular, but Raven was still staring at the table top.

"Well then…I guess we'll see you…" said Beastboy.

Jericho nodded and waved as he walked out of the door. There was silence in the living room. Each of the titans felt like they were losing part of the team. Why? They hadn't felt this way when Terra left them.

"It doesn't feel right, letting him just go." Said Beastboy.

"It was his choice." Said Cyborg.

"Maybe he felt like he was intruding or something," said Beastboy.

Raven closed her eyes, fighting her emotions with everything she had. She couldn't let them go. She had to stay strong…She stood up suddenly.

"Raven?" asked Robin, "What's up?"

Raven didn't say anything. She was staring at the door. She was battling with herself. She turned to Robin and stared at him for a second.

"Do you have a spare communicator?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, why?" asked Robin, then he understood and ran over to the computer.

He picked up a spare communicator and threw it to Raven. She caught it and ran through the living room, through the doors, along the corridors.

He couldn't have left the island yet. She wasn't going to let someone with those powers leave just like that. She had to say something to him and give him a choice…

She rounded a corner, opened the doors and ran out onto the rocks. Jericho was just walking along a path.

"Joey!" she called.

He turned around. Raven ran over to hi m and held out the communicator.

"You're an official titan." Said Raven, "And…I…"

Joey held out his hand and took the communicator from Raven and he smiled his thanks. Raven was trying to find the right words, but it wasn't coming out right. She kept repeating something about, 'part of a team'. None of it made sense.

"I think," said a voice from the door of the tower.

Raven looked around. The titans were standing at the door. It was Robin speaking.

"…that what Raven is trying to say," he laughed, "is that if you feel like staying as a permanent member of the team, you're more than welcome."

Jericho looked down at the communicator in his hand. He was smiling slightly. Raven had flash backs to when Terra had received her communicator and suddenly ran from the tower. She hoped that this wouldn't be a repetition.

"Well…what do you say?" asked Beastboy.

Jericho looked up from his communicator to Raven. Her face looked concerned. She was worried about his answer. He took a breath and lifted his hands. She sighed a deep breath of relief. Robin nodded and turned to the other titans.

"He says he's not sure if Slade is truly gone. It's too hard to tell," all the titans' faces fell, "But he's willing to stay here and wait to find out."

Beastboy let out a loud whoop of excitement. Starfire gave a large smile and caught Raven's eye. Her smile grew. It was a few seconds before Raven realised that she was smiling too, and her cheeks were going pink…

Jericho patted her on the shoulder. She turned around. He was smiling back at her and he sighed top her.

'Thank-you'

"N…no problem," said Raven.

"Are you sure you want we're going to have room here, maybe we have room in Titans east…" began Cyborg.

"No, I've been thinking about expanding the main group," said Robin, "Maybe even putting new members into Titans east and bringing some of them over here. Either way," he gave Jericho the thumbs up, "We've got a new member."

There were sudden alarms sounding from the tower. They all turned to Robin who grinned and ran back into the tower. They all followed except Jericho who stared up at the tower.

For the first time in his life he felt that he could start again, with a new life. He suddenly realised, he was normal; he had _friends…_

_

* * *

_

_**The End…?**_

_**

* * *

**_

(A/N) Not much of an ending, but it was the best I can do. This is my first attempt to include original members. I was hoping to do some sort of sequel including members such as Kid Flash (Wally West) and Donna Troy (Wonder Girl). Please tell me what you think.

P.S. Sorry it took so long to get this chapter up. 'Sky' on our TV packed up and to kill time my sister (Kat097) decided to spend the last two nights on the computer non stop! So I'm a bit behind on my writing and uploading and on top of that I'm on work experience right now so I have work to do. Damn being a fifteen year old sucks!


End file.
